The Next Big Terror Threat, Part 2

 We talked awhile back about what I think will be the next terrorist boogeyman as painted by the US Government and media, Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).   The process of building the next boogeyman is a subtle and patient process, it starts with introducing us to the monster.  Then consistently and quietly at first they work the monster and the country in which he resides into the news cycle.  Then after we all know who and where the monster is, we look for a trigger event that can be used to raise the blood pressure of the American people.  So we know who the monster is AQAP and its leader Anwar Al-Awlaki, and we know where they are, Yemen.  So friends it’s time you get to know Yemen, here is the link to the CIA Factbook entry for Yemen:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ym.html

Also we are starting to see the government increasing attention on Yemen, in the news today we see that Secretary of State Clinton made a surprise visit to Yemen:

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0111/Why-Hillary-Clinton-made-a-surprise-stop-in-Yemen

Something to keep your eye on, within the next two years Yemen will be our next Afghanistan or Iraq.

The next big terror threat

So after 10 years we have effectively dispersed the original core of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Iraq, after drawing them to Iraq with a little war there.  But the problem with fighting terrorism, unlike fighting a country, is that there is no set army or location to destroy.  With cells that can develop, align themselves and then act independently of the center, it can be a never-ending project.  So unfortunately what this has set up is a permanent state of “war” for the United States a perpetual reason for the government to deploy our forces and spend money on the industrial war complex instead of those luxuries like healthcare, social security, education or the environment in America.

The next “BIG” threat is beginning to be painted in the media.  As the Iraq and Afghanistan wars start to wind down, the military industrial complex will need to create a new boogeyman for the US to focus and spend money on destroying.  So the next group that we will be told hates our freedom is Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).  These are not nice people for sure, they are aligned with Osama Bin Laden and have made similar calls for the overthrow of the Saudi Government and to destroy the west;

http://www.globaljihad.net/view_news.asp?id=1604

The leader of this organization is a man named Anwar Al-Awlaki, born in the United States of Yemeni descent who possesses both US and Yemeni citizenship.  You can read more about Anwar Al-Awlaki at the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_al-Awlaki

Although I won’t post the links here, Al-Awlaki has a Facebook page, he has YouTube videos and has used the internet in a way no other terrorist has before, a Bin Laden for a new generation of jihadists you might say.  Is Al-Awlaki and his organization a true threat?  Well they were reported to be behind:

A recruiting office shooting in Little Rock in June, 2009

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Little_Rock_recruiting_office_shooting

the failed 2009 Christmas airline bomber:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umar_Farouk_Abdulmutallab

and the failed October 2010, cargo plane bomb plot:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_cargo_plane_bomb_plot

When you look at this activity and how frequently AQAP is being mentioned on the news, I think we know who the next boogeyman is, or put another way, the next thing that is supposed to scare the hell out of us to give the government more control over our lives and distract us from the fact that Osama Bin Laden still runs free after 10 years.